Andante

Things that are moderately damaging:
      - Neurotransmitters
      - Alcohol
      - Alcohol, consumed by others
      - Caustic substances in wounds not yet healed

Things that are healthful:
      - Phone calls from family
      - Roommates
      - Orangutans
      - Bread, homemade
      - Movies
      - Friends
      - Songs from the nineties and early new millennium




          I'm taking piano lessons this term, the first time I've done so since eighth grade. I had a lot of bad habits back then - ignoring the correct fingerings for songs, a certain blindness to accents and slurs, a tendency to play at one volume (quietly). I've gotten over most of these. I play with expression and dynamics, placing staccatos and accents and sforzandos with surety. I even put the right fingers on the right keys instead of making it up and getting hopelessly tangled, as was once my wont.
          But the one thing I still haven't learned to control is my tempo. As always, I rush. I jump ahead of the metronome, patches of familiar music giving me false assurance so, when I run into tricky passages, I stumble.
          This impatience also applies to the non-musical parts of my life.

          But I'm learning. Each time I have to go back and retry a phrase, I think, Slow down. Keep it steady, smooth - you don't need to impress anyone.
          It's not a race. I've been told that a lot. My piano teacher in middle school told me that a lot. She would tap her toe along with the metronome, apparently worried that its piercing click alone wasn't penetrating my skull.
          She was probably right.